theodp writes: The Irish government has been given a stark warning from some of the biggest American companies in Ireland on the risk of a mass exodus if the country's controversial low corporate tax rate is raised in return for an IMF/EU bailout to shore up the country's beleaguered banking system. According to The Telegraph, a statement signed by senior execs at Microsoft, HP, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, and Intel points out that although Ireland's tax rate may be low in European terms, it is not when compared with locations such as Singapore, India and China. Separately, the head of Google's 2,000-strong European HQ in Dublin told the Belfast Telegraph that 'anything that impinges on Ireland's competitiveness is going to be a big thing for Google,' adding that, 'anything that increases the cost-base of a business is negative for competitiveness.' Or, as Tony Soprano might say, 'You'll be dead to me'.